how do you etch cable damascus so its permanent

P

pinpoint

Joined
Jul 17, 2001
Messages
234
G'day
I'm trying my hand at some cable damascus and have been able to make some small pieces. However when I etch the pattern, it comes up fine but it rubs off on my fingers. I'm using Ferric cloride, etching for 5 to 10 mins, running under water to get rid of the ferric cloride, then dipping in motor oil to stop it rusting.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Pinpoint
 
You probably need to give it a longer and thus deeper etch.The finish will scratch no matter what you do to it when used very hard.I etch mine for about 20-30 minutes,then Buff it after washing off all the black I can with baking soda and water.
Bruce
 
Im new at this but I ran into a similar problem on my cable billete even after a long etch. My solution was to neutralize w/baking soda,then i abraid the blade with 1000 grit wet and dry on a block of wood. warm the blade under a lamp to 150 + or- then i apply cold gun bluing per the instruction on the bottle, i skip the steel wool step and continue with the 1000 grit. Its easy to conrol how dark you want it. My finall step is wd40 and 1000 grit. It worked for me. By the way cold gun blue is available at wallmart or kmart Mine came from Ace hardware. Gun stores would have it so doest Jantz supply. Good luck, I hope this doesnt lead u astray, after all Im new...
 
just wondering, are you diluting your ferric? I cut mine 1 part ferric to 3-4parts water. Undiluted ferric is to strong and will etch everything at close to the same rate. after a 20-30minit etch on hardened cable you can feel the welded wires with your fingernail. Thats anoughther thing, hardened cable etches better than soft.

Also I've found that what works best for me is to etch for about 5 minits, rubdown with 1500grit paper getting all the black off, stick back in for anouther 5 minits or so. Keep doing this till you get the dept you want.

Good luck and hope this helps.
 
Will Beat me to it. My first thought was that the steel isnt hardened yet. Soft steel wont show a good pattern.
 
Thanks for the help. I am diluting the Ferric Cloride. I don't measure it but I'd guess 1:5 or 1:10. I'll try it a bit stronger and for longer and then sand in between etches. If that doesn't work I'll try the cold blueing. The cable was hardened, although I hope I did it right.
Back to the garden shed!!
Thanks
Pinpoint
 
You might give this a try, it works really well on ground edge quenched carbon blades. Rub the blade down with a mixture of valve grinding paste and baby oil, using 4-0000 steel wool. I also use concentrated lime juice, mixed 50-50 with water, as a etchant.
Ken (wwjd)
 
I'm no expert, but I have lots of friends who are. :) I have had good success etching the few blades I have done by following a few guidelines.

Hardened damascus etches better than non hardened. I found this out by etching a differentially heat treated damascus blade once. Couldnt figure out why the pattern stopped at a certain point.

Blades that are finished to a finer grit etch better also. A blade handrubbed to only 120 will not etch as nicely as one handrubbed to 600.

Make sure the blade is super clean of all oils, greases or fingerprints. I use a diluted solution of water and TSP.

I use a solution of 1 part Archer's Etchant and 3 parts water. Hot water makes the solution work better also.

Soak the blade in the solution for about 5 minutes, pull it out and wipe off the black residue with a clean rag, lightly sand the blade with super fine sandpaper, and put back in the solution for another 5 minutes. Repeat this process until the desired etch is achieved.

I used the TSP solution to deactivate the acid etch and then immediately oiled the blade down with Rem oil.

This process worked well for me, but experiment until you find something that works for you.
 
I've seen several blades where the damascus was etched pretty deep and then the blade covered with baking lacquer, baked, and cleaned up with sandpaper. The lacquer stays in the dips that the etching created. That makes for a strong pattern...

JD
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I got a better etch by using a stronger solution, etching longer and sanding in between. I didn't think it would help to sand in between etches, as I thought it would remove too much contrast, however it did worK.
Thanks again
Pinpoint
 
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